Brian Negus receives ITS Australia lifetime achievement gong

Industry veteran Brian Negus has been given an award by ITS Australia to mark his long service to the ITS sector.

Following a career spanning more than half a century, Negus received the Max Lay Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony in Brisbane this week.

He was a director of ITS Australia for 12 years from 2007 – and for half that time he was also its president. Despite retiring, Negus still has a role as ambassador for the organisation, representing ITS Australia nationally and internationally, and is on the board of ITS World Congress.

Speaking at the ITS Australia National Awards, current president Dean Zabrieszach, said: “The ITS industry in Australia is making progress that is equal, if not surpassing, some of our overseas counterparts.”

Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads received the Government award for its work during the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, using ITS analytics to provide real-time answers to congestion issues.

Industry award winner was EastLink for its freeway tunnel ventilation on-demand system, while the Centre for Technology Infusion at La Trobe University won for its Autonobus Pilot Project, a level 4 automated shuttle trial.

The Young Professional award winner was Michael Cybulski, who set up Retina Visions two years ago. The company provides governments, councils and road authorities with the ability to build digital models of the road network in real time.

The Research award went to Data61 and Transport for NSW, which jointly developed a prototype artificial intelligence engine for congestion management.